the lack of power tube compression was the key to the solid state amps being popular with the DM crowd , they could hold a level of definition at extreme gain and low tunings. its the same reason the cold biased power section/ hi preamp gain 5150 style amps became popular after .
@@meltv3399 What guy above me said and the rare Crate Tidalwave/VTX-350 (basically, had the VH140C circuit on the 3rd channel, except for the treble control being shifted from 3,5kHz to 7kHz, and a 350 Watt power amp). Not the Shockwave, mind you, they look similar, but only share the power amp.
@@TheMasonator777 Had a pedal clone of the preamp and have Crate XLP (rack version of the GX130C preamp), not the original VH140C. They were never sold in Europe.
Bought one of these back when they came out , tried it with EVERY cab they had in the store, they had about 10 different cabs. The one i bought was hughes & kettner 4x12 vintage speaker cabs with the metal grill on it, sounded better than all the other cabs.This combo of amp and cab always sounded better than anyone elses at the time. Wished i still had it.
The cab I ran mine through was branded Ampeg and had Celestion Vintage 30s in it. That was back when they were still made in the UK. I originally bought the head and cab together new, and then traded the head with a friend who had the VH140C combo, which I ran as a "six pack" with the 4x12. Best cab I've ever owned or played through. Of course cabs are subjective, like everything else; another player might like a different one better.
I love the sound of those old ss amps, like this Ampeg, Crates, Randall's, Marshall Valve States (which I've had, once, and regret trading in). At the time, they were so affordable - and versatile, since they were fine for bedroom practice as well as the stage. And the dark, "flat" edge-of-fizzed-out-cheese tone was all part of the mojo of the classic DM sound!
My late 80's/early 90's thrash rig was the ss140c head, 4x12 Marshall angled JCM 800, tube screamer and beat-to-hell BC Rich gunslinger. I saw a lot of these VH 140c's used by the DM kids that came behind us. Thank you for taking me back with this demo!
Well, Suffo and Cannibal Corpse definitely could afford different amps and were some of the biggest death metal bands. And Death, the most famous death metal band, went from JCM800s to Valvestates. And Pantera with Dime's all solid state rig was huge. So I wouldn't say it was purely an issue of affordability. That kinda tone was what Engl into V30s is now. Besides, I'd take this Ampeg over many tube amps. It just has this signature raw grind to its tone.
I have a Boss Katana MK2 For solid state (very tube like) it’s amazing for under $400 or $300 That 1 +12 speaker will blow your head off Onboard effects are great for bedroom/spontaneous jamming I also have a Harley Benton SG custom for under $250. Killer combination for very little money
@@wyattstephans1718 appreciate you supporting Boss!!! It’s a monster on the brown channel with the octave/delay/swirling speaker effect engaged It’s like the sound of Black Sabbath opening to Mob Rules, E5150 Set your amp and turn it up!
@@Sw87sw87 I will do that soon. Saving up for a laptop, my other one had wine spilled on it. If your a good guitarist, even with this amp (stand alone) you can do a lot I can’t wait to try the apps
Seldom were these amps recorded with guitar directly plugged to the amp. One of the most common practices was to use the TS-type booster in front of it - and if that was not enough, guitar tech or sound engineer in the studio plugged additional EQ (either before or after the TS) and boosted frequencies around 1 kHz (to some extent also a bit lower / higher and slightly cut some low end, then compensating for it by increasing lows on the amp). This is the main trick to increase "chug" factor and either open up or smooth the tone out for the recording. Additional EQing was also done in- or before the mixing console with separate rack module. However, when the band performed live, they rarely used the same extra sound-shaping effects as in the studio, so the same material, on the very same amps sounded noticeably muddier and grittier than on the album. This also means that the average user gets the tone more akin to that of live performance (or even some "early demo tape"), when he's using these and other analog amps, than what comes out from the studio. These facts are quite obvious for many, but might be worth noting here.
Great video. I’ve owned a VH140C combo since 1992. It served me well through high school playing rock and metal originals and covers. Later in the late 90’s / early 2000’s I used it for over 6 years in a versatile cover band that played everything from Chubby Checker oldies to Matchbox 20 90’s pop to Metallica with an Elvis set in the middle. It never failed me. It was either on stage in a smoky bar or bouncing around in the back of our old Ford van. Great, versatile amp that could take a beating. I still have it and it still sounds great, although I have the infamous effects loop cut out. But as long as I loop the effects loop, it’s all good. Maybe I’ll get that fixed one day.
SS amps have a certain "hollow" sound to them that a tube amp can't do the vh140 was unique because of the mid control on the 2nd channel the same thing goes for the Marshall 8100 the "contour" control made it unique because of the way it reacted with the eq and Randall's had that unique gain structure that no other amp had
I loved my vox ac10...until I bought a '97 marshall valvestate on a whim...now when I go back to the vox it sounds thinner and fizzier...power tubes don't automatically make it better
I have one of these. Bought it used in 1994 and I still have it in my amp room. I’ve had issues here and there with it. Repair tech didn’t screw the guts back in the case and it spilled out, messing up the chorus but the spring reverb still works. The volume will drop out from time to time but it still freaking rips heads off!!!! I love running multiple cabs off of it too!!! Great video man!!
by far the best sounding video, and most informative for this amp. for me, this is one of those amps that when you hear it cranked in person it all makes sense. well done!
@@DonnieSmooth I tried it both ways and there may not have been a huge difference BUT ran it in between my guitars and the Amp. I think all the stomp box pedals sounds better that way. Now, I also had a Ibanez Turbo Tube Screamer and a boss flanger that I used moderately on certain songs. No 9 volt power supply either. For recording or gigs a brand new high quality battery for me was how to do it. I had a set of Seymour Duncan Invaders in a Arbor Randy Rhodes style flying v. I had a Ibanez Rhodes body style V that I ran the standard 80's EMG 85/81 configuration in and I ran the same in a Ibanez Iceman. The EMG'S are what tightened everything up. I bought my Ampeg in 1988 or 1989? It was the first year they hit the floor at Strings and Things in Memphis tn. They had the a in the square logo and the sparkly blue silver and black dead space Amp head cloth cover and speaker grill/covers. I ran two 2×12 Ampeg cabs which did what they were designed to do with the Ampeg 140 Stereo Chorus head. I ran a Peavy 4x12 cab on bottom. I think they were paired in stereo fashion I honestly can't say 100 percent. But I did run it half open in the back. Filling the center bottom leaving it open on the top half. It sounded like shit but I kept it turned towards the Drummer so he could hear what was goin on regardless of the on stage monitor situation. I miked up one 2x12 and kept the other to my right sight at like a 22degree angle and used it for my personal stage monitor. It saved my ass in the some of the larger theaters venues like the omni New daisy or the outdoor Memphis in May stages. Hey, it was the mid-late 80's in Memphis. We had to improvise alot of shit ya'll!!! Sorry for the ramble BUT I hope this finds you all doing well !!! Willard
I used to go to my local Hollywood Guitar Center in the late 80s and crank up an Ampeg solid state combo I just loved. The thing sounded incredible and was incredibly loud. I would plug in a couple Hamer's I liked, like the Steve Stevens II and Chaparral. There are so many criminally underrated solid state amps and Ampegs were ceertainly in that category.
Should of said earlier you wanted that sound. SNK VHD pedal - it’s the preamp dirty channels of the VH140C and nails the sound. I run mine into 100 watt Mosfet power amp. Nice find on the head though. The clean channel of the 140C and even the 150C (same preamps in both) are awesome too. Brutal metal at its finest.
I wanted this amp after listening to Suffocation and Dying Fetus. I ended up with an Amp Tweaker Tight Metal. It sounds fantastic (with all knobs at noon except the Tight knob being just off zero) running through the clean channel of my Marshall 8100. But I still want this amp anyway. Thanks for the great vid.
Grab a Master Effects Misanthrope, it's a VH140C in a box. They also have the Martyr which is an 8100 in a box. Also some of the Crate amps like the GX-65 have a similar preamp to the VH140C and GX130C supposedly but I can't say how true that is. But through a legit cab and not the combo speaker they can sound insane. ua-cam.com/video/1PlDyeConFk/v-deo.html
@@russiangoose7053 Hey, thanks for the reply. I see that Master Effects has all sorts of legendary amps in boxes. And from a web search I see other pedal makers offering VH140c pedals. That Crate GX-65 sounds great.
I feel like I should also mention that the controls on a lot of solid state amps often differ from the face knobs on a lot of tube amps. In the case of the VH140c, in a lot of videos i've watched people have said that the face knobs change the tone of the amp itself moreso than it actually adds or takes away any of the frequencies. I've seen people plug straight in with the treble cranked, mids wherever they prefer to leave them, and the bass scooped enough to where they can maintain a tight and precise high gain tone plugged straight in to the amp.
These and the Crate GX are my favourite amps of all time, solid-state or tube. Any blend of the Ampeg, the Crate and the Marshall VS is perfect for that '90s death metal tone.
@@phillymopwater No, I have not. Generally speaking you'd just mic up your cab, so even a small amp can work live. As for how loud an amp and cab is, the speaker sensitivity plays a big role. That said, I'd anticipate that amp would be adequate for any gig where micing isn't an option.
@@TaylorDanley Undoubtedly! I've always liked the budget (or in this case former budget) amplifiers like the old Crates, Peaveys and Randalls, when I finally find one of these I can actually afford it'll make a great addition to the collection!
Oh, the clean tone demo is a nice adding, not sure about other people but apart from heavy metal I'm also into other "lighter" genres like post-rock, so it's nice to know a dream amp like the Ampeg could pull off El Ten Eleven without trouble lol :D
I have a Creat gx130c? It’s a giant carpet covered head! Supposed to be based off of the vh140c. Has the stereo chorus and so on like the ampeg. It’s a fun toy when it works!!
I have a couple of them. They are , like most 30 year old amps, definitely prone to issues. And though they always get compared and people say they are the same circuit, they are quite a bit different. I'm going to compare them in an upcoming video, but they are for sure cut from the same cloth (and made by the same company). B they do have some differences... Mostly the way the mid controls work.
I would love to see a resurgence in Solid State amplifier technology amongst the guitar community. There are so many great solid state amps in existence and the fact that a lot of people don't realize how much you can do with one baffles me. I've been trying to snag a Randall RG1003h or a Randall RG1503H myself to use in conjunction with the exciter on my Zoom MS50G in the FX Loop to add bass and treble frequencies found more commonly in tube amps. If you get the chance dude, definitely keep an eye out for both of those.
@@mfkrwill funny enough i have the Crush Pro 120 that i use with a 6 band in the loop and i set the knobs on the amp like i would if i'm playing through a Mesa Mark series amp. It sounds a lot better whenever you set the Orange Crush amps that way in my experience.
Phillip Addington You should try the crate gt3500h shockwave, when you search it just type in crate shockwave, its a 350 watt solid state amp, and it sounds fucking amazing, If your able to find one for sale, u should purchase it Nd try it out, they sound amazing and super fucking heavy and tight
Nice video man, I have a capture of this amp in my quad cortex, but I haven’t messed around with it yet. That’s about to change shortly. I think this amp would be great when quad tracking guitars and blending with a more modern and full tone. Would probably sound wicked.
Yeah, I made a capture of this one with the QC and it sounds pretty good, but I'm going to. refine it and possibly add a tube power stage to the capture as well to see if I can get it to be a little more lively. IMO the capture I made really emphasizes the flatness of the channel. Not a bad thing if that's what you are going for, but I think I could make it better with some tweaks.
@@TaylorDanley oh also check out a song on my channel called “Oculus”. Recorded it a couple years back. One of my best guitar tones I’ve ever gotten. Used neural dsp nts suite and custom ir’s. I’d love to hear what you think
From 1988 to earlier this year I have been a total Crate amps guy. Never could find anything else I liked. I started with a Crate G40C combo. Then to a G120 and a G120 half stack. Of course I have a pedal board from hell running into it. I wish I would have known about this Ampeg amp. Would've changed things for the better back in the day. Now I am playing through an Orange Super Crush 100 half stack and I'm in love with it. All I needed to get my sound and tone out of it is pit a Boss 7 band EQ through the effects loop. I leave it on clean and dirty. Orange is the shit!
I have an SS140c combo that I grabbed on offerup for $60, which is a slightly earlier version. I know there's differences and the VH is considered the 'holy grail of 90s death metal' but still, I love that amp. The chorus on it is actually amazing and the spring reverb is pretty decent too. Also, that Dimitrescu shirt is sick.
I don't think there is a real difference between the ss and vh other than the ss gain has to be on 10 to equal the vh set at 4-5 , which is where most people have it set anyway.
I’ve had both amps multiple times. Definitely a big difference in tone and gain. The VH is much more of a death metal sound. The SS is more thrash sounding, lots more upper mids and less gain. Clean channel on the SS is actually very pleasing, the VH not so much.
Those amps are very speaker sensitive. Finding is right match is crucial to your tone. Also the EMG’s really compress that sound that’s why you’re not getting that “airy” sound you’re looking for. I feel EMG’s do that to every amp
Had one of these back in 1999 when I joined my first semi established band who were playing out in clubs and venues where you needed volume to reach the back of some of them, and this amp paired with a Marshall jmc900 1960A cab definitely got me that volume! Being my first "real" guitar amp rig, I was in tone heaven! Only sold the beauty I had to move on to tube amps I thought I had to own lol. As with all stocks that rise with demand I hate to even think of what I let it go for. I do remember I almost doubled my investment when I did let it go.
You motivate me bro. Thanks. Oh also I haven't watched this video yet but in one of your videos with the boss katana head when you were reviewing it I love how you simply just ran the head through the cabinet and no other bullcrap no other effects you actually showed the true tone of the amp thank you so much for all you do. Subscribed
You have the passion for the metal, the dark, the grind, the school of old and retired school, which only is acknowledge once the age has crept up on one. Metal keeps us Young.
Yeah, I feel like the best way to handle the low end on this guy is to embrace it (don't turn down the low knob) and sculpt it with a boost, or an EQ in the loop
That's just a rumor, it's the ss140c that has the same layout. I have the schematics for all 3 and the VH140c looks like they just cleaned up the original circuitry and made it slightly more compact and changed the gain value a touch. I think they gave it more gain not because it needed it, but because the gain at 10 on the SS is the sweet spot and they wanted to add a little range. The gx130c is certainly based on the same design though.
I LOVE those amps. I knew a guy that had two of them and even at bedroom volume those amps sounded absolutely massive. They definitely live up to the hype. I love that they can sound sludgy all the way to lightning fast TechDeath stuff. Such killer amps
My friend/guitarist Ward from our punk band Resist (and his other band, the Klingon warriors known as STOVOKOR) uses a 2x12 combo version of this amp (straight in with no pedal effects). It sounds incredible! and to my (albeit slightly overblown) drummer ears, the distortion channel sounds almost indistinguishable from a good high gain tube amp! It's one of those amps that should never be gotten rid of, being a great sounding and inexpensive. (not to mention that even if the sound isn't to your liking over time, it's still a great reliable/unbreakable workhorse that's a great all round back-up amp!)
For many years I played the 2x12 combo version with a 4x12 cab containing Celestion V30s. I found the Ampeg speakers in the combo kind of thin and shrieky on their own, but running all six speakers balanced out the highs and lows great, and sounded huge. I once had another local guitarist get pissed off at me when he complimented me on my tone after a set and asked what kind of tubes I was using. "None." He thought I was hiding something from him. He was so adamant that it had to be a tube amp to sound that good, he went and looked in the back LMAO.
Just gotta say thank you for the awesome ToneX profiles you've made browski. Especially this one! If you made a collection of this amp id grab it. Much respect from Japan☆
Great post bro…. I too went on reverb and bought one of these recently. I had sold both of mine in late nineties, and wanted to see what i could do with it being much more experienced now. And i struggled with this amp still. I gave up when i plugged into all my other amps to A/B them to this head. Every amp i had was effortless to just eq and get going. This amp took tweaking and tweaking and for what? Everything else i had sounded better with less effort.
I saw Fight, Rob Halferd 's solo Project in the Early 90's. The guitarist were using Ampeg Lee Jackson signature addition amps. So, I traded and cash way more than fare,but I do miss that signal channel Nuclear power plant of Beef Distortion. The Ampeg logo was Purple, just as a special edition should be. The tube magic of this Beast was made for only one purpose, Loud and no neighbors around, louder.
Ibanez tbx 150h. Crate gt3500h. Shockwave. Basically a 350 watt amp with the vh140c preamp. Tide to 3 controls though. Volume, gain and tone sweep knob. Peavey XXL. I didn't jive with it but you might. Ampeg ss70. 70 watt 1x12. Not as much gain as the vh but its good. Hope this helps.
I don’t know if it’s necessarily “underrated” but the Framus Dragon was hugely important to the English grindcore sound (Napalm Death for example) in the 90’s. No one ever talks about Framus amps anymore. They are pretty rare here in Canada, and I’d imagine in the US as well. Edit: Speaking of British amps, you can get some surprisingly good tones out of some of the Bugera heads. Not something you’d expect a big name band to be using in the studio, but they are very decent budget amps if you’re looking to jam in the garage or basement with your buds. The 1990 Infinium 120 watt sounded pretty good. I’ve never played one, but I checked out some videos here on UA-cam. Although you never know what people are adding in post there days.
Always looking for solid takes on this amp. It does seem a bit temperamental in the low end, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. I did prefer This Heavy Earth’s preamp, despite being a bit darker. Regardless, it sounded brutal in the mix, but I suspect that a good deal of the mix quality is also down to your playing and production skills.
Thanks dude! You know, I should mention this more, but I try to make the guitar tone in the mix SUPER transparent, meaning I don't add any post EQ to the guitar tracks, or do any production trickery.... I just try to dial it in to sit in the mix, and then it's pretty raw from there. And yeah, Shea's pedal is great! It's not necessarily darker, just darker at the same settings as I had on the amp due to the taper on the pot. They sound identical, they just dial a little differently. Sorry if that part was confusing!
@@TaylorDanley Always good to know, but I assumed as much. I just think your general play style and recording technique brings out the best from the amps in their bare voicing state. Of course, one can radically alter all those things with EQ work in the production process, but your mixes tend to reflect the natural voicing of the amps when you’re running them through various tests. As for the pedal. Your explanation was very clear and my observation was only in reference to the similar setup as the amp. I actually preferred the pedal on that account as it presented more versatility potential in terms of voicing within the pedal.
That's the thing, some (a lot) of players get what their favorite Bands or Players used and I get it. The thing with that is just like you said, it's what they had at the time and chances are most likely it's because it was affordable at the time. Many of you can play circles around some of your Heros, some not so much. No Big Deal. Use what sounds good and make it work and pave your own way. Perhaps some young Player will research what your gear is down the road and drive the prices through the roof. Most of us aren't rich, not even close. It's a great time to play Guitar and there are so many affordable Amps, Modelers, Pedals, Guitars out there.Spend money on Cables,Strings, & Picks. Practice 4 hours a day and Jam with as many people as possible and let the chips fall where they may. Do it for the love.I love how Taylor pulled out the Sonicake ! Perhaps an MXR 6 band Eq may have helped tame this iconic Beast ? Perhaps not. What do i know.Love that Guitar. Make ?
Pretty awesome. Not a huge Death Metal fan (i'm 65) but Six Feet Under 'The Haunted' or Obituary "World Demise" are here and get spins when i'm in the mood (ie pissed off about something). I'd never associate Ampeg with this genre but pretty great. Last i was excited about was in the late '90s when The Jets were RI'd, diamond blue covers and all. Stopped by a shop one afternoon and a St. Louis Music rep was there since they carried the amps. Better known brand was Crate and the guy said they tried to let the Ampegs 'keep their distance'. Been so long, i don't know if these are still around. Also knew a guy in the mid '70s who had a V4 full stack, to me the American Marshall. The "Stones tone' Look at the back cover of Get Yer YaYa's Out and a mention is given saying Ampeg supplied the amps for that tour,,,prob included Altamont. man, a tech travelled with the band. oh, the V4, it was stolen from a band storage space. Thought it was an inside job,,,can't recall what happened after.
It's funny when you think of the sorts of amps Ampeg is mostly known for, but then again the clean channel on this amp is pretty killer too. Scott Hull from Pig Destroyer used to fanboi on these amps.
I was in a band in the late 90s early 2ks...and both guitars were using the 140c......and there was no way that our drummer was louder, and we had no issues keeping up with him. We were usually the loudest band on the bill of whatever show we played. Still have that amp and cabinet.....which was also an Ampeg.
i actually an ampeg V4 , it had a schematic taped to the inside wall dated 1973, i got it $100.00 ,and it was just a weird amp, it sounded different every time i turned it on, so i unloaded it to a guy who had it totaly rebuilt for something like $400.00, on top of the $300.00 he gave me for it, so it has to be something special, so maybe try to find one of those, but my fav. amp is a peavey XXL, with any cab holding vintage 30's, not only does it it have it's own unique sound ,it emulates it's cousins 5150 ,and a JSX, along with some popular brit brand and an american company named for a car part, and if you run about any distortion pedal through it or processor ,it sounds great, it's an all around good fella, friendliest though, to the heavier styles of guitar
I always find it funny that the VH-140C somehow became really popular as a heavy metal amp, because what it is really is Ampeg's version of a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus. A VH-140C 2x12 stereo combo was my first amplifier, back in 1990, which cost me (or more accurately, my father, it was his present to me for finally taking up his instrument) $650 USD brand new. The VH stands for "Variable Harmonics" and was essentially an updated preamp fitted to the earlier 1980s Ampeg SS (Solid State, of course) series amps that was meant to produce a better overdrive/distortion sound by mimicking a tube amp. The reason why I chose this amp was because at 22 years old and a new guitarist (I was previously a keyboardist and already in a band), I'd heard so many scary stories about the unreliability of tube amps that I wanted a solid state amp for gigging in teh dive bar rock clubs we played on the East Coast of the US. Of all the solid-state amps in the store, I felt the VH-140C had the best overdrive/distortion sound. The fact that it had built-in chorus (actually vibrato) and reverb was a bonus. The VH-140C combo came in two versions, one with Ampeg branded speakers, and one with Celestion G12M-70 Modern Lead drivers. Mine has the Celestions, though maybe not the original set, as I had a tendency to melt the voice coils playing with my early 1990s shoegaze band. I went through several sets of drivers, and had some of them reconed. The VH-140C does indeed have pristine clean tones, much like the Roland Jazz Chorus, but with better distortion and more power than the JC-120. Like the Roland Jazz Chorus, the "chorus" is actually just a vibrato on one channel; chorus is nothing more than vibrato mixed with a dry signal. Hence the two dry outputs and two wet outputs. Incidentally, if you hook up the optional SS-212E extension cabinet, which is a 2x12 stereo cab with two 8 ohm speakers, the amp delivers I think 90 W or 100 W per channel into 4 ohms. I never owned the extension cab, but a friend of mine in another band had the set. All the albums on which I played rhythm guitar with deardarkhead use that amp, before I switched to bass. I also used a long string of Boss effects, including an HM-2 Heavy Metal and an EH-2 Enhancer for an insane boost. I still have the amp. Several years ago, I took it in for service, because it had become unreliable, and my tech fixed it up by repairing some failing solder joints and cleaning some connections. Sadly, it has become unreliable again, and my tech was an older gentleman who dies during the COVID pandemic, so I don't currently have a tech nearby to fix it. I play a Mesa/Boogie F-50 combo, now, with a Mesa/Boogie Walkabout Scout bass combo as my stereo second channel, if I'm not using it to play bass. By the way, the head version of the VH-140C is simply the combo chassis flipped upside down, so on the combo version, all the controls are reversed, and the inputs are on the left.
A couple solid state heads I've used that I swear by are the Peavey Transtube 100w head, and the Hughes and Ketner Warp 7 head. If you can find them, check them out.
Suffocation's early tone was the Peavey Butcher (Reincremated demo) then Peavey 5150/Peavey XXX & now Peavey 6505+ amps. (this is album amps) Live they'll use pretty much whatever is supplied as backline. I own a Voodoo Amps modded XXX that was owned by Terrance Hobbs. It sounds absolutely brutal.
I think the green channel sounds more to my tastes, "beefy" as you said, with a bit of a chunkier, thrashy vibe. But the other channel, definitely see why it was a staple of 90s death metal. With that boomy sound, reminds me of Cannibal Corpse circa Vile or Gallery era, where they first started with the low B-flat tuning.
from what i read on the internet, most if all ss amps dont have a reactive load aka an impedance curve that comes from an output transformer, which might explain that flat sound youre talking about, its the same reason why you can run a ss amp without a cab and use the di without a loadbox, the best way to negate that flat sound would be to use an eq in the fx loop and find an impedance curve response and match that to the eq, but thats just what i think
these amps rule!!!!!!!! ive played the crate gx130c which is almost the same amp! ive actually gotten a really good tone with an hm-2 ran in the effects loop of one of these. gives it the mids back it desperately needs at the sacrifice of some treble but it honestly works way better than it should
Learning how to use the effects loop in my VH140C was a huge step in me learning to get the tone I wanted. It was the first amp I had with a loop and since then I really never wanted an amp that doesn't have one. They're SO useful. Sometimes I would run all my effects through it, that works for sure... and eventually I settled on just using a rack 32-band EQ in the loop with modulation and delay coming from stompboxes in front of the pre-amp. Using a decent EQ like that is super handy for tweaking your tone.
The Crate is voiced differently. The Crate tone stack frequencies are 90/900/5000, the Ampeg knobs are aimed at 100/1000/3200. Beyond that the circuits are quite similar.
@@dogslobbergardens6606 I just got the Vh140c combo version. Can you tell me how you would go about/what you would run through the fx loop to get the tone you wanted. I never used an fx loop on a amp before
I have a old MXR 6 band EQ, I've got fuzz pedals, wah wah's Boss Ds1 distortions, i don't have any overdrive pedals yet, i need to get one. I keep reading about this certain Maxxon one
Great video series, man. I enjoy these. Only small complaint, set aside a couple minutes to explore the guts so people can see the build quality they're getting into as well. Maybe documenting the ICs and transistor types used for us geeky types. ;) Also, on an amp like this where you like the tone overall but your complaint is muddiness or too much "woofiness" and lack of top end sparkle, try a graphic EQ pedal. Then you can reduce the "woofy" frequency to taste. All metal dudes need an EQ pedal or EQ in the rack.
I can tell you they used a $hiity type of ceramic resistors that corrode and clog up the pots and kill your tone LOL.. Probably just because they're old though.
These amps are actually really good with passive pickups, the EMGs are a classic staple. Got a really good 7 string tone running ones through a Mesa 4x12 with bare knuckles and A Fortin 33. Did use a Plumes OD for a while all depends on guitar.
The original manuals very excellent recommendation for the clean channel was to dime the volume and start cracking open the gain as your level control in order to get the cleanest tone. Run like that it is super clean.
The Suffocation album that most people will mention as having the ultimate guitar tone is Pierced From Within. Contrary to popular belief on that album they didn't use VH-140c amps - they used Marshall VS 8100s.
I’ve owned mine along with an ampeg 2x12 cab with vintage 30w celestians since 1995 and i’ll never part with it. The clean channel with the chorus is pretty sweet too. It only runs in stereo with the chorus engaged. I cannot say enough good things about these amps except the effects loop is famous for going out as mine has years ago so I just run my pedals inline.
Noob guitarist here, what do you do with such a pedal? Do you run your guitar > pedal > any amp? If yes that's damn impressive, especially for that price
I used to have a Peavey Supreme 160 head. That thing had the best metal sound. I sold it for $150 years ago and wish I kept it. Solids-state amps always sounded better and more precise than tube amps for metal, to me.
@@schecter7elite801 I don't know. For an amp that was pretty old it still sounded modern. It had a great clean channel, and everyone I played it to couldn't tell if it was solid state or tube. It could do it all.
I have an Ibanez head laying around, it sounds in the same ballpark, I've had it for two decades and i still go back to it from time to time :) dirty cheap too if you came across one
I got this head in a slightly older version in 1990 for graduation. I had a 4x10 Marshall at first and then 2 4x12 Crate cabs later on. It was cool for the time. My band went to a guy's home studio to record a demo and he used the direct line out for most of it and it sounded Sooooo horrible. I enjoyed the head for the most part.
Oh cool, the one that had the controls on the top of the panel instead of the bottom? Yeah, if you just used the direct line with no sort of filtering or cab simulation, it would just be the preamp signal, and yeah I'd imagine it sounded like poo poo.
@@TaylorDanley , yep the top panel one. People always thought I was using a bass head. Lol. It sounded pretty good running a wet/dry setup. I never knew until I saw your video that all those bands used one. \m/
Saw you backed off the gain on channel B after the demo & before testing both channels! My only qualm with this amp; the gain maxes out at 2 and sounds exactly the same set @ gain 10. The SNK VHD Pre-amp pedal fixed this problem for me, and the gain/EQ knobs are more versatile when playing through a clean pedal/power amp. I prefer running it through a quilter toneblock to match the EQ level of my vh140c (& of course for the extra 60 watts ;^)) I suggest this for anyone looking to sound like Dying fetus, saving money on a hard to find amp, all while fitting it all in your backpack!
I know he had that setup and then added a GX130C to the mix. Sketchy guy though. He was gonna print up some hats with the “VH140C” logo from the amp and took pre orders without making them. Luckily I got my money back lol.
This was my main amp head for 24 years until just last year when I got sick of lugging around the 4x12 with it. I've let at least 40 of my recording customers use it on theirs projects as well. Truly an iconic amp! 👍
About the "flat sounding" part, channel A really doesn't allow any dynamics due to its conception. usually, cascading gain sequences employ a "fairly" clean first stage to keep a good /ample signal wave. it makes everything more progressive and detailed. here, the sequence is more like a boosted distorted gain stage cascading into another distorted one. Not a bad design, just a choice. And should you check on the schematic, you'd see that the circuit architecture is similar (not identical, just similar) to a...big muff!..diodes in the feedback loop, yadi yada, just more boost in front and other details. so yeah, dynamics is pretty much squished! Also, the "ultra mid" is a 1khz centered/26dB notch filter with a range extending from 100hz to 10khz. that's more audio squish right here haha! Shea was right, pots taper change how the knobs behave. His' with log tapers are coherent with how our earing works so, he definitely made the right choice! Just one final thing: you almost commit some sacrilegious act @17:15 😂
Yeah, Shea was really helpful explaining everything (or trying... a lot of it goes over my head lol) and showing me the schematics. Do you mean because the pedal almost fell? Yeah I'm sort of clumsy. Did you see me knock my coffee mug over with my headstock a while back? 🤣
If you’re looking for a great underrated amp to check out, look into the Randall RH200. 200 watt solid state amp. It sounds great and since it’s Randall, it excels at doing high gain on a solid state. I had one years ago but sold it to pay for a Line 6 Spider Valve (another underrated amp worth checking out!)
I've just discovered you about 30min ago. I've subscribed to you. I'm also a HUGE Metal guy.... Metallica, Pantera, KoRn, Cannibal Corpse, W.A.S.P. Metal, Thrash, Death Metal, Nu Metal.....and everything in-between My favorite guitar to play (you'll notice if you watch my videos) is my 8 string Ibanez tuned down a full step E/A/D/G/C/F/A/D
Yeah, they are just super rare anymore. I know they are out there though. Second best option is to get one of the preamp pedals with a good SS power amp.
a wet/dry rig is basically an old bassist trick of running a clean signal path and dirty signal path at the same time so basically the head acts like a DI box
Still have my combo with matching 2x12 and recorded the Sarsen self titled album with it. The amp's distortion is as amazing as the hype but what I also love is if I want to run something like a helix into it in stereo, you can use the stereo power amp ins that bypasses the preamps and it works as a personal PA but for guitar because you get the celestions etc just make sure to turn down on the multi fx. Amazing as it is but super versatile. The reverb and chorus turned on together is fucking awesome. The repair on the tank would be worth it!
For awhile I was in a band where the other guitarist had one of these. No matter what we did he would disappear in the mix. My mesa mkiv was too loud on 3 and he could crank and not be heard. We spent a ton of time dialing it. Their solution (wasn't my band) was to have me use a metal zone so I disappeared in the mix too. Then I figured out how to dial the metal zone to be heard again and they pulled that old trick of disbanding the group then reforming without me so they didn't have to fire me.
Another staple amplifier in that era is the Peavey VTM 120. That thing is a gain monster and handles low end like no other. Check them out sometime if you haven't yet! They're roughly $600 used
This is one of my main amps, I’ve played it for countless shows, recordings and practices. I love it, but the recent resurgence and price spike on reverb and FB marketplace is part of the overhype brought along by newer weaker death metal bands copying entombed and incantation. It’s a fantastic amp for extreme metal with the right cab. I have a beautiful Diezel cab with V30s that makes any tube amp sound amazing, but the VH140 sounds like dogshit through it. When I use this head, I run it through the matching Ampeg 4x12 with some kind of Celestion GH speakers (i forget exactly what kind but everyone hates them) and it sounds massive. Great for fetus/suffocation/internal bleeding tones but also great for scooped mid ignorance. Will forever love this amp. Good video, I just think you might’ve ran it through the wrong cab and dialed it weird.
@@wakjob961 think so. haven’t cracked the cab in a while. they don’t sound great with other amps but considering the VH140 is voiced for those speakers it sounds best with those
Thanks for dropping by! Get a CHUG SQUAD shirt here! taylordanley.creator-spring.com
🤘🏻
cool man！can you do a video about how you mix your prefect drum and your preset of the drum settings?
What about the Crate version?
I think the low/high inputs are for passive or active pickups
I had a pair of the vh140c 212 combo amps and they were pretty killer amps but not worth 800$ + or whatever you paid but🤷🏻♀️
the lack of power tube compression was the key to the solid state amps being popular with the DM crowd , they could hold a level of definition at extreme gain and low tunings. its the same reason the cold biased power section/ hi preamp gain 5150 style amps became popular after .
What other solid state amps compare to this in your opinion??
@@meltv3399 Crate GX-130c Same guy who created the VH-130c created the GX-130c. Not the same amp design, but many similarities.
@@meltv3399 What guy above me said and the rare Crate Tidalwave/VTX-350 (basically, had the VH140C circuit on the 3rd channel, except for the treble control being shifted from 3,5kHz to 7kHz, and a 350 Watt power amp). Not the Shockwave, mind you, they look similar, but only share the power amp.
@@Admiral_Bongo Had that amp.
@@TheMasonator777 Had a pedal clone of the preamp and have Crate XLP (rack version of the GX130C preamp), not the original VH140C. They were never sold in Europe.
Bought one of these back when they came out , tried it with EVERY cab they had in the store, they had about 10 different cabs. The one i bought was hughes & kettner 4x12 vintage speaker cabs with the metal grill on it, sounded better than all the other cabs.This combo of amp and cab always sounded better than anyone elses at the time. Wished i still had it.
H&K makes great stuff! I bet it ripped!
Try a cab with Sheffield speakers. Very tight and thick sound. Perfect for metal.
Hughes kettner are fantastic
Out of curiosity, which speakers did the cab have? Or does the vintage in the name refer to the good ol' Vintage 30's?
The cab I ran mine through was branded Ampeg and had Celestion Vintage 30s in it. That was back when they were still made in the UK. I originally bought the head and cab together new, and then traded the head with a friend who had the VH140C combo, which I ran as a "six pack" with the 4x12.
Best cab I've ever owned or played through. Of course cabs are subjective, like everything else; another player might like a different one better.
I love the sound of those old ss amps, like this Ampeg, Crates, Randall's, Marshall Valve States (which I've had, once, and regret trading in). At the time, they were so affordable - and versatile, since they were fine for bedroom practice as well as the stage. And the dark, "flat" edge-of-fizzed-out-cheese tone was all part of the mojo of the classic DM sound!
My late 80's/early 90's thrash rig was the ss140c head, 4x12 Marshall angled JCM 800, tube screamer and beat-to-hell BC Rich gunslinger. I saw a lot of these VH 140c's used by the DM kids that came behind us. Thank you for taking me back with this demo!
Especially for these kind of sounds.. im in love with my jcm 800. its perfect for these tones
Well, Suffo and Cannibal Corpse definitely could afford different amps and were some of the biggest death metal bands. And Death, the most famous death metal band, went from JCM800s to Valvestates. And Pantera with Dime's all solid state rig was huge. So I wouldn't say it was purely an issue of affordability. That kinda tone was what Engl into V30s is now. Besides, I'd take this Ampeg over many tube amps. It just has this signature raw grind to its tone.
Raw grind is the perfect way to describe this amp’s sound
Scratchy filthy sound. It’s fantastic.
@@koooomiyeah it’s nothing like engl😂
I have a Boss Katana MK2
For solid state (very tube like) it’s amazing for under $400 or $300
That 1 +12 speaker will blow your head off
Onboard effects are great for bedroom/spontaneous jamming
I also have a Harley Benton SG custom for under $250. Killer combination for very little money
I bought one too. Fantastic purchase. I’m surprised they’re so cheap to be honest. Super versatile and great out of the box.
@@wyattstephans1718 appreciate you supporting Boss!!! It’s a monster on the brown channel with the octave/delay/swirling speaker effect engaged
It’s like the sound of Black Sabbath opening to Mob Rules, E5150
Set your amp and turn it up!
I sold my Rivera Knucklehead Tre and 6505 and swapped to a Katana 112. Fuck dragging around all this heavy shit.
@@pawlpoche8736 I actually hated the katana out of the box. It wasn’t until I started sending patches to it and using the tone studio on my pc.
@@Sw87sw87 I will do that soon. Saving up for a laptop, my other one had wine spilled on it. If your a good guitarist, even with this amp (stand alone) you can do a lot
I can’t wait to try the apps
Seldom were these amps recorded with guitar directly plugged to the amp. One of the most common practices was to use the TS-type booster in front of it - and if that was not enough, guitar tech or sound engineer in the studio plugged additional EQ (either before or after the TS) and boosted frequencies around 1 kHz (to some extent also a bit lower / higher and slightly cut some low end, then compensating for it by increasing lows on the amp).
This is the main trick to increase "chug" factor and either open up or smooth the tone out for the recording. Additional EQing was also done in- or before the mixing console with separate rack module.
However, when the band performed live, they rarely used the same extra sound-shaping effects as in the studio, so the same material, on the very same amps sounded noticeably muddier and grittier than on the album. This also means that the average user gets the tone more akin to that of live performance (or even some "early demo tape"), when he's using these and other analog amps, than what comes out from the studio.
These facts are quite obvious for many, but might be worth noting here.
Great video. I’ve owned a VH140C combo since 1992. It served me well through high school playing rock and metal originals and covers. Later in the late 90’s / early 2000’s I used it for over 6 years in a versatile cover band that played everything from Chubby Checker oldies to Matchbox 20 90’s pop to Metallica with an Elvis set in the middle. It never failed me. It was either on stage in a smoky bar or bouncing around in the back of our old Ford van. Great, versatile amp that could take a beating. I still have it and it still sounds great, although I have the infamous effects loop cut out. But as long as I loop the effects loop, it’s all good. Maybe I’ll get that fixed one day.
SS amps have a certain "hollow" sound to them that a tube amp can't do the vh140 was unique because of the mid control on the 2nd channel the same thing goes for the Marshall 8100 the "contour" control made it unique because of the way it reacted with the eq and Randall's had that unique gain structure that no other amp had
My Randall RH300 G3 is set up like that. The contour knob really changes the overall flavor of brutality.
I loved my vox ac10...until I bought a '97 marshall valvestate on a whim...now when I go back to the vox it sounds thinner and fizzier...power tubes don't automatically make it better
Doesn't the Mesa Mark I have that hollow sound too? Santana's tone.
Dude, that demo at the beginning was killer. Great mix and riffs!!!
FU FKCXasKLDjf whizle fixzzles chees guitart rif f of guitar goenes madness!!!
08:38 instant Suffocation "entrails of you" riff vibes here
such a sick tone
I have one of these. Bought it used in 1994 and I still have it in my amp room. I’ve had issues here and there with it. Repair tech didn’t screw the guts back in the case and it spilled out, messing up the chorus but the spring reverb still works. The volume will drop out from time to time but it still freaking rips heads off!!!! I love running multiple cabs off of it too!!! Great video man!!
Thanks dude! Yeah it’s a very cool amp, and I’d say a couple service repairs for a 30 year old amp is probably par for the course!
Put a patch cord in the FX loop, dude. From what I've gathered, volume drops are a common problem on them cause of unreliable loop wiring.
by far the best sounding video, and most informative for this amp. for me, this is one of those amps that when you hear it cranked in person it all makes sense. well done!
Great Demo. I have the Ampeg Vh-150. Great plug and play amp. Extremely loud with tons of gain in tap.
Great production value and awesome playing. What more could you want from a UA-cam guitar channel? Instant follow!
Thanks dude 🙌🥳
Owned one when they first hit. I used the 2×12 ampeg cabs. The trick for me was a boss eq pedal. Then yes, a beast.
directly after your guitar, or through the fx loop?
@@DonnieSmooth I tried it both ways and there may not have been a huge difference BUT ran it in between my guitars and the Amp. I think all the stomp box pedals sounds better that way. Now, I also had a Ibanez Turbo Tube Screamer and a boss flanger that I used moderately on certain songs. No 9 volt power supply either. For recording or gigs a brand new high quality battery for me was how to do it. I had a set of Seymour Duncan Invaders in a Arbor Randy Rhodes style flying v. I had a Ibanez Rhodes body style V that I ran the standard 80's EMG 85/81 configuration in and I ran the same in a Ibanez Iceman. The EMG'S are what tightened everything up. I bought my Ampeg in 1988 or 1989? It was the first year they hit the floor at Strings and Things in Memphis tn. They had the a in the square logo and the sparkly blue silver and black dead space Amp head cloth cover and speaker grill/covers. I ran two 2×12 Ampeg cabs which did what they were designed to do with the Ampeg 140 Stereo Chorus head. I ran a Peavy 4x12 cab on bottom. I think they were paired in stereo fashion I honestly can't say 100 percent. But I did run it half open in the back. Filling the center bottom leaving it open on the top half. It sounded like shit but I kept it turned towards the Drummer so he could hear what was goin on regardless of the on stage monitor situation. I miked up one 2x12 and kept the other to my right sight at like a 22degree angle and used it for my personal stage monitor. It saved my ass in the some of the larger theaters venues like the omni New daisy or the outdoor Memphis in May stages. Hey, it was the mid-late 80's in Memphis. We had to improvise alot of shit ya'll!!!
Sorry for the ramble
BUT
I hope this finds you all doing well !!!
Willard
I used to go to my local Hollywood Guitar Center in the late 80s and crank up an Ampeg solid state combo I just loved. The thing sounded incredible and was incredibly loud. I would plug in a couple Hamer's I liked, like the Steve Stevens II and Chaparral. There are so many criminally underrated solid state amps and Ampegs were ceertainly in that category.
That sound just throws me back into the 90s, I've always wondered what's behind that sound, great video man, great playing to.
Should of said earlier you wanted that sound. SNK VHD pedal - it’s the preamp dirty channels of the VH140C and nails the sound. I run mine into 100 watt Mosfet power amp. Nice find on the head though. The clean channel of the 140C and even the 150C (same preamps in both) are awesome too. Brutal metal at its finest.
Also used on Internal Bleeding's VORACIOUS CONTEMPT and EXTINCTION OF BENEVOLENCE 🔥☠️🔥
I wanted this amp after listening to Suffocation and Dying Fetus. I ended up with an Amp Tweaker Tight Metal. It sounds fantastic (with all knobs at noon except the Tight knob being just off zero) running through the clean channel of my Marshall 8100. But I still want this amp anyway. Thanks for the great vid.
Grab a Master Effects Misanthrope, it's a VH140C in a box. They also have the Martyr which is an 8100 in a box. Also some of the Crate amps like the GX-65 have a similar preamp to the VH140C and GX130C supposedly but I can't say how true that is. But through a legit cab and not the combo speaker they can sound insane. ua-cam.com/video/1PlDyeConFk/v-deo.html
@@russiangoose7053 Hey, thanks for the reply. I see that Master Effects has all sorts of legendary amps in boxes. And from a web search I see other pedal makers offering VH140c pedals. That Crate GX-65 sounds great.
I feel like I should also mention that the controls on a lot of solid state amps often differ from the face knobs on a lot of tube amps. In the case of the VH140c, in a lot of videos i've watched people have said that the face knobs change the tone of the amp itself moreso than it actually adds or takes away any of the frequencies. I've seen people plug straight in with the treble cranked, mids wherever they prefer to leave them, and the bass scooped enough to where they can maintain a tight and precise high gain tone plugged straight in to the amp.
These and the Crate GX are my favourite amps of all time, solid-state or tube.
Any blend of the Ampeg, the Crate and the Marshall VS is perfect for that '90s death metal tone.
have you used the gx130 in a live setting? i’m wondering if it would be loud enough to cut thru with a 4x12 cab
@@phillymopwater No, I have not. Generally speaking you'd just mic up your cab, so even a small amp can work live.
As for how loud an amp and cab is, the speaker sensitivity plays a big role.
That said, I'd anticipate that amp would be adequate for any gig where micing isn't an option.
This and the Marshall Valvestate 8100 (which I own) are my favourite Solid-State Amplifiers, still chasing this one.
They're good amps, I mean people obviously are still buying them so they must have some magic smoke in there!
@@TaylorDanley Undoubtedly! I've always liked the budget (or in this case former budget) amplifiers like the old Crates, Peaveys and Randalls, when I finally find one of these I can actually afford it'll make a great addition to the collection!
Not only for Death Metal. Kamelot's guitarist has used an Ampeg VH-140 for years. Studio & live both.
Oh, the clean tone demo is a nice adding, not sure about other people but apart from heavy metal I'm also into other "lighter" genres like post-rock, so it's nice to know a dream amp like the Ampeg could pull off El Ten Eleven without trouble lol :D
Man, all those outputs make for some creative sound setups I imagine. Would love to get my hands on one of these beasts!
I have a Creat gx130c? It’s a giant carpet covered head! Supposed to be based off of the vh140c. Has the stereo chorus and so on like the ampeg. It’s a fun toy when it works!!
I have a couple of them. They are , like most 30 year old amps, definitely prone to issues. And though they always get compared and people say they are the same circuit, they are quite a bit different. I'm going to compare them in an upcoming video, but they are for sure cut from the same cloth (and made by the same company). B they do have some differences... Mostly the way the mid controls work.
I had both the gx130c and a ss140. They are similar, but I kept the Crate in favor of the Ampeg.
I would love to see a resurgence in Solid State amplifier technology amongst the guitar community. There are so many great solid state amps in existence and the fact that a lot of people don't realize how much you can do with one baffles me.
I've been trying to snag a Randall RG1003h or a Randall RG1503H myself to use in conjunction with the exciter on my Zoom MS50G in the FX Loop to add bass and treble frequencies found more commonly in tube amps. If you get the chance dude, definitely keep an eye out for both of those.
AmpOne Iridium!
Meh?!? Who cares. I have a Peavey Supreme and a Crate gx130c, let the tube amp purists sleep on them. Keeps the prices better.
ive heard the newest Orange solid state amp crushes
@@mfkrwill funny enough i have the Crush Pro 120 that i use with a 6 band in the loop and i set the knobs on the amp like i would if i'm playing through a Mesa Mark series amp. It sounds a lot better whenever you set the Orange Crush amps that way in my experience.
Phillip Addington
You should try the crate gt3500h shockwave, when you search it just type in crate shockwave, its a 350 watt solid state amp, and it sounds fucking amazing, If your able to find one for sale, u should purchase it Nd try it out, they sound amazing and super fucking heavy and tight
Nice video man, I have a capture of this amp in my quad cortex, but I haven’t messed around with it yet. That’s about to change shortly. I think this amp would be great when quad tracking guitars and blending with a more modern and full tone. Would probably sound wicked.
Yeah, I made a capture of this one with the QC and it sounds pretty good, but I'm going to. refine it and possibly add a tube power stage to the capture as well to see if I can get it to be a little more lively. IMO the capture I made really emphasizes the flatness of the channel. Not a bad thing if that's what you are going for, but I think I could make it better with some tweaks.
@@TaylorDanley gotcha. I’ll have to see what I can come up with. If I have time this weekend I’ll post a video
@@TaylorDanley oh also check out a song on my channel called “Oculus”. Recorded it a couple years back. One of my best guitar tones I’ve ever gotten. Used neural dsp nts suite and custom ir’s. I’d love to hear what you think
From 1988 to earlier this year I have been a total Crate amps guy. Never could find anything else I liked. I started with a Crate G40C combo. Then to a G120 and a G120 half stack. Of course I have a pedal board from hell running into it. I wish I would have known about this Ampeg amp. Would've changed things for the better back in the day. Now I am playing through an Orange Super Crush 100 half stack and I'm in love with it. All I needed to get my sound and tone out of it is pit a Boss 7 band EQ through the effects loop. I leave it on clean and dirty. Orange is the shit!
Crate and Ampeg had the same parent company back in the day so that’s probably why you’d like this amp so much lol.
I have an SS140c combo that I grabbed on offerup for $60, which is a slightly earlier version. I know there's differences and the VH is considered the 'holy grail of 90s death metal' but still, I love that amp. The chorus on it is actually amazing and the spring reverb is pretty decent too. Also, that Dimitrescu shirt is sick.
I don't think there is a real difference between the ss and vh other than the ss gain has to be on 10 to equal the vh set at 4-5 , which is where most people have it set anyway.
I’ve had both amps multiple times. Definitely a big difference in tone and gain. The VH is much more of a death metal sound. The SS is more thrash sounding, lots more upper mids and less gain. Clean channel on the SS is actually very pleasing, the VH not so much.
I love the casual more plates more dates in the background.
Love your channel man, especially all the recent solid state stuff. I can whole hearted say this is my favorite Amp ever. Great review!
Thanks dude, I really appreciate you dropping in!
Those amps are very speaker sensitive. Finding is right match is crucial to your tone. Also the EMG’s really compress that sound that’s why you’re not getting that “airy” sound you’re looking for. I feel EMG’s do that to every amp
Had one of these back in 1999 when I joined my first semi established band who were playing out in clubs and venues where you needed volume to reach the back of some of them, and this amp paired with a Marshall jmc900 1960A cab definitely got me that volume! Being my first "real" guitar amp rig, I was in tone heaven! Only sold the beauty I had to move on to tube amps I thought I had to own lol. As with all stocks that rise with demand I hate to even think of what I let it go for. I do remember I almost doubled my investment when I did let it go.
I was surprised to hear the host say that people complain about this amp not being loud enough. I NEVER had a problem filling any room with it.
You motivate me bro. Thanks. Oh also I haven't watched this video yet but in one of your videos with the boss katana head when you were reviewing it I love how you simply just ran the head through the cabinet and no other bullcrap no other effects you actually showed the true tone of the amp thank you so much for all you do. Subscribed
You have the passion for the metal, the dark, the grind, the school of old and retired school, which only is acknowledge once the age has crept up on one. Metal keeps us Young.
I used to use an Amptweaker Tight Drive as a clean boost for my Ampeg SS70. It tightened up so well... damn I miss that amp!
Yeah, I feel like the best way to handle the low end on this guy is to embrace it (don't turn down the low knob) and sculpt it with a boost, or an EQ in the loop
I believe the schematic on this model is similar if not identical to the crate gx130c. Great video bro
That's just a rumor, it's the ss140c that has the same layout. I have the schematics for all 3 and the VH140c looks like they just cleaned up the original circuitry and made it slightly more compact and changed the gain value a touch. I think they gave it more gain not because it needed it, but because the gain at 10 on the SS is the sweet spot and they wanted to add a little range. The gx130c is certainly based on the same design though.
I LOVE those amps.
I knew a guy that had two of them and even at bedroom volume those amps sounded absolutely massive. They definitely live up to the hype.
I love that they can sound sludgy all the way to lightning fast TechDeath stuff. Such killer amps
They do have quite a big range on them. But like I mentioned, I think I prefer the aesthetic and vibe more than anything!
Looking forward to what you think of the Peavey XXL. I see it under your XXX :p
Yep, it's there! Just need to get to it.. One of these days!
My friend/guitarist Ward from our punk band Resist (and his other band, the Klingon warriors known as STOVOKOR) uses a 2x12 combo version of this amp (straight in with no pedal effects). It sounds incredible! and to my (albeit slightly overblown) drummer ears, the distortion channel sounds almost indistinguishable from a good high gain tube amp! It's one of those amps that should never be gotten rid of, being a great sounding and inexpensive. (not to mention that even if the sound isn't to your liking over time, it's still a great reliable/unbreakable workhorse that's a great all round back-up amp!)
For many years I played the 2x12 combo version with a 4x12 cab containing Celestion V30s. I found the Ampeg speakers in the combo kind of thin and shrieky on their own, but running all six speakers balanced out the highs and lows great, and sounded huge.
I once had another local guitarist get pissed off at me when he complimented me on my tone after a set and asked what kind of tubes I was using. "None."
He thought I was hiding something from him. He was so adamant that it had to be a tube amp to sound that good, he went and looked in the back LMAO.
Always wanted one of these cool old amps
Just gotta say thank you for the awesome ToneX profiles you've made browski. Especially this one! If you made a collection of this amp id grab it. Much respect from Japan☆
Great post bro….
I too went on reverb and bought one of these recently. I had sold both of mine in late nineties, and wanted to see what i could do with it being much more experienced now. And i struggled with this amp still. I gave up when i plugged into all my other amps to A/B them to this head. Every amp i had was effortless to just eq and get going. This amp took tweaking and tweaking and for what? Everything else i had sounded better with less effort.
It sounds ugly. Old school death metal is ugly. It works for that.
Awesome! Love this amp after this review!
I saw Fight, Rob Halferd 's solo Project in the Early 90's. The guitarist were using Ampeg Lee Jackson signature addition amps. So, I traded and cash way more than fare,but I do miss that signal channel Nuclear power plant of Beef Distortion. The Ampeg logo was Purple, just as a special edition should be. The tube magic of this Beast was made for only one purpose, Loud and no neighbors around, louder.
Ibanez tbx 150h.
Crate gt3500h. Shockwave.
Basically a 350 watt amp with the vh140c preamp. Tide to 3 controls though. Volume, gain and tone sweep knob.
Peavey XXL. I didn't jive with it but you might.
Ampeg ss70.
70 watt 1x12. Not as much gain as the vh but its good.
Hope this helps.
I don’t know if it’s necessarily “underrated” but the Framus Dragon was hugely important to the English grindcore sound (Napalm Death for example) in the 90’s. No one ever talks about Framus amps anymore. They are pretty rare here in Canada, and I’d imagine in the US as well.
Edit: Speaking of British amps, you can get some surprisingly good tones out of some of the Bugera heads. Not something you’d expect a big name band to be using in the studio, but they are very decent budget amps if you’re looking to jam in the garage or basement with your buds. The 1990 Infinium 120 watt sounded pretty good. I’ve never played one, but I checked out some videos here on UA-cam. Although you never know what people are adding in post there days.
My band used a Bugera head for some of the bits on our last record. Gnarly tones
Yes the dragon and cobra are pretty much impossible to find
I don’t think the Framus Dragon has been around for that long and I really don’t think Napalm Death were using them
@@geoffh8077 napalm did use them but in the 2000s they were most def not around in the 90s lol idk where that dude got that from
Always looking for solid takes on this amp. It does seem a bit temperamental in the low end, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. I did prefer This Heavy Earth’s preamp, despite being a bit darker. Regardless, it sounded brutal in the mix, but I suspect that a good deal of the mix quality is also down to your playing and production skills.
Thanks dude! You know, I should mention this more, but I try to make the guitar tone in the mix SUPER transparent, meaning I don't add any post EQ to the guitar tracks, or do any production trickery.... I just try to dial it in to sit in the mix, and then it's pretty raw from there.
And yeah, Shea's pedal is great! It's not necessarily darker, just darker at the same settings as I had on the amp due to the taper on the pot. They sound identical, they just dial a little differently. Sorry if that part was confusing!
@@TaylorDanley Always good to know, but I assumed as much. I just think your general play style and recording technique brings out the best from the amps in their bare voicing state. Of course, one can radically alter all those things with EQ work in the production process, but your mixes tend to reflect the natural voicing of the amps when you’re running them through various tests.
As for the pedal. Your explanation was very clear and my observation was only in reference to the similar setup as the amp. I actually preferred the pedal on that account as it presented more versatility potential in terms of voicing within the pedal.
That's the thing, some (a lot) of players get what their favorite Bands or Players used and I get it. The thing with that is just like you said, it's what they had at the time and chances are most likely it's because it was affordable at the time. Many of you can play circles around some of your Heros, some not so much. No Big Deal. Use what sounds good and make it work and pave your own way. Perhaps some young Player will research what your gear is down the road and drive the prices through the roof. Most of us aren't rich, not even close. It's a great time to play Guitar and there are so many affordable Amps, Modelers, Pedals, Guitars out there.Spend money on Cables,Strings, & Picks. Practice 4 hours a day and Jam with as many people as possible and let the chips fall where they may. Do it for the love.I love how Taylor pulled out the Sonicake ! Perhaps an MXR 6 band Eq may have helped tame this iconic Beast ? Perhaps not. What do i know.Love that Guitar. Make ?
21:04 what song is this riff from? Or is it original?
Pretty awesome.
Not a huge Death Metal fan (i'm 65) but Six Feet Under 'The Haunted' or Obituary "World Demise" are here and get spins when i'm in the mood (ie pissed off about something).
I'd never associate Ampeg with this genre but pretty great.
Last i was excited about was in the late '90s when The Jets were RI'd, diamond blue covers and all.
Stopped by a shop one afternoon and a St. Louis Music rep was there since they carried the amps.
Better known brand was Crate and the guy said they tried to let the Ampegs 'keep their distance'. Been so long, i don't know if these are still around.
Also knew a guy in the mid '70s who had a V4 full stack, to me the American Marshall. The "Stones tone'
Look at the back cover of Get Yer YaYa's Out and a mention is given saying Ampeg supplied the amps for that tour,,,prob included Altamont. man, a tech travelled with the band.
oh, the V4, it was stolen from a band storage space. Thought it was an inside job,,,can't recall what happened after.
It's funny when you think of the sorts of amps Ampeg is mostly known for, but then again the clean channel on this amp is pretty killer too.
Scott Hull from Pig Destroyer used to fanboi on these amps.
I was in a band in the late 90s early 2ks...and both guitars were using the 140c......and there was no way that our drummer was louder, and we had no issues keeping up with him. We were usually the loudest band on the bill of whatever show we played. Still have that amp and cabinet.....which was also an Ampeg.
i actually an ampeg V4 , it had a schematic taped to the inside wall dated 1973, i got it $100.00 ,and it was just a weird amp, it sounded different every time i turned it on, so i unloaded it to a guy who had it totaly rebuilt for something like $400.00, on top of the $300.00 he gave me for it, so it has to be something special, so maybe try to find one of those, but my fav. amp is a peavey XXL, with any cab holding vintage 30's, not only does it it have it's own unique sound ,it emulates it's cousins 5150 ,and a JSX, along with some popular brit brand and an american company named for a car part, and if you run about any distortion pedal through it or processor ,it sounds great, it's an all around good fella, friendliest though, to the heavier styles of guitar
I always find it funny that the VH-140C somehow became really popular as a heavy metal amp, because what it is really is Ampeg's version of a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus. A VH-140C 2x12 stereo combo was my first amplifier, back in 1990, which cost me (or more accurately, my father, it was his present to me for finally taking up his instrument) $650 USD brand new. The VH stands for "Variable Harmonics" and was essentially an updated preamp fitted to the earlier 1980s Ampeg SS (Solid State, of course) series amps that was meant to produce a better overdrive/distortion sound by mimicking a tube amp.
The reason why I chose this amp was because at 22 years old and a new guitarist (I was previously a keyboardist and already in a band), I'd heard so many scary stories about the unreliability of tube amps that I wanted a solid state amp for gigging in teh dive bar rock clubs we played on the East Coast of the US. Of all the solid-state amps in the store, I felt the VH-140C had the best overdrive/distortion sound. The fact that it had built-in chorus (actually vibrato) and reverb was a bonus. The VH-140C combo came in two versions, one with Ampeg branded speakers, and one with Celestion G12M-70 Modern Lead drivers. Mine has the Celestions, though maybe not the original set, as I had a tendency to melt the voice coils playing with my early 1990s shoegaze band. I went through several sets of drivers, and had some of them reconed.
The VH-140C does indeed have pristine clean tones, much like the Roland Jazz Chorus, but with better distortion and more power than the JC-120. Like the Roland Jazz Chorus, the "chorus" is actually just a vibrato on one channel; chorus is nothing more than vibrato mixed with a dry signal. Hence the two dry outputs and two wet outputs. Incidentally, if you hook up the optional SS-212E extension cabinet, which is a 2x12 stereo cab with two 8 ohm speakers, the amp delivers I think 90 W or 100 W per channel into 4 ohms. I never owned the extension cab, but a friend of mine in another band had the set.
All the albums on which I played rhythm guitar with deardarkhead use that amp, before I switched to bass. I also used a long string of Boss effects, including an HM-2 Heavy Metal and an EH-2 Enhancer for an insane boost.
I still have the amp. Several years ago, I took it in for service, because it had become unreliable, and my tech fixed it up by repairing some failing solder joints and cleaning some connections. Sadly, it has become unreliable again, and my tech was an older gentleman who dies during the COVID pandemic, so I don't currently have a tech nearby to fix it. I play a Mesa/Boogie F-50 combo, now, with a Mesa/Boogie Walkabout Scout bass combo as my stereo second channel, if I'm not using it to play bass.
By the way, the head version of the VH-140C is simply the combo chassis flipped upside down, so on the combo version, all the controls are reversed, and the inputs are on the left.
A couple solid state heads I've used that I swear by are the Peavey Transtube 100w head, and the Hughes and Ketner Warp 7 head. If you can find them, check them out.
Suffocation's early tone was the Peavey Butcher (Reincremated demo) then Peavey 5150/Peavey XXX & now Peavey 6505+ amps. (this is album amps) Live they'll use pretty much whatever is supplied as backline. I own a Voodoo Amps modded XXX that was owned by Terrance Hobbs. It sounds absolutely brutal.
I think the green channel sounds more to my tastes, "beefy" as you said, with a bit of a chunkier, thrashy vibe. But the other channel, definitely see why it was a staple of 90s death metal. With that boomy sound, reminds me of Cannibal Corpse circa Vile or Gallery era, where they first started with the low B-flat tuning.
Totally, and I'm with you on the green channel!
Cannibal Corpse used Crates, a gx130c.
Love this amp! Gonna buy another one eventually
from what i read on the internet, most if all ss amps dont have a reactive load aka an impedance curve that comes from an output transformer, which might explain that flat sound youre talking about, its the same reason why you can run a ss amp without a cab and use the di without a loadbox, the best way to negate that flat sound would be to use an eq in the fx loop and find an impedance curve response and match that to the eq, but thats just what i think
these amps rule!!!!!!!! ive played the crate gx130c which is almost the same amp! ive actually gotten a really good tone with an hm-2 ran in the effects loop of one of these. gives it the mids back it desperately needs at the sacrifice of some treble but it honestly works way better than it should
Learning how to use the effects loop in my VH140C was a huge step in me learning to get the tone I wanted. It was the first amp I had with a loop and since then I really never wanted an amp that doesn't have one. They're SO useful.
Sometimes I would run all my effects through it, that works for sure... and eventually I settled on just using a rack 32-band EQ in the loop with modulation and delay coming from stompboxes in front of the pre-amp. Using a decent EQ like that is super handy for tweaking your tone.
The Crate is voiced differently. The Crate tone stack frequencies are 90/900/5000, the Ampeg knobs are aimed at 100/1000/3200.
Beyond that the circuits are quite similar.
@@dogslobbergardens6606 I just got the Vh140c combo version. Can you tell me how you would go about/what you would run through the fx loop to get the tone you wanted. I never used an fx loop on a amp before
I have a old MXR 6 band EQ, I've got fuzz pedals, wah wah's Boss Ds1 distortions, i don't have any overdrive pedals yet, i need to get one. I keep reading about this certain Maxxon one
Great video series, man. I enjoy these. Only small complaint, set aside a couple minutes to explore the guts so people can see the build quality they're getting into as well. Maybe documenting the ICs and transistor types used for us geeky types. ;)
Also, on an amp like this where you like the tone overall but your complaint is muddiness or too much "woofiness" and lack of top end sparkle, try a graphic EQ pedal. Then you can reduce the "woofy" frequency to taste. All metal dudes need an EQ pedal or EQ in the rack.
I can tell you they used a $hiity type of ceramic resistors that corrode and clog up the pots and kill your tone LOL.. Probably just because they're old though.
These amps are actually really good with passive pickups, the EMGs are a classic staple. Got a really good 7 string tone running ones through a Mesa 4x12 with bare knuckles and A Fortin 33. Did use a Plumes OD for a while all depends on guitar.
The original manuals very excellent recommendation for the clean channel was to dime the volume and start cracking open the gain as your level control in order to get the cleanest tone. Run like that it is super clean.
I used to have that amp. Or one similar back in late 90’s. Hardest metal we played was face in the sky from testament
The Suffocation album that most people will mention as having the ultimate guitar tone is Pierced From Within. Contrary to popular belief on that album they didn't use VH-140c amps - they used Marshall VS 8100s.
Wasn't Despise the Sun the VH140c...
@@TheSpineSplitter1990 yes - that and Effigy of the Forgotten
Jeremy, Pierced from Within was made by using GX130C and Metal Zone clean boost
I’ve owned mine along with an ampeg 2x12 cab with vintage 30w celestians since 1995 and i’ll never part with it. The clean channel with the chorus is pretty sweet too. It only runs in stereo with the chorus engaged. I cannot say enough good things about these amps except the effects loop is famous for going out as mine has years ago so I just run my pedals inline.
This really reminds me of a Randall RH200 that I had. Very similar sound for not much cash.
You can always get a Guptech VEJ1 pedal that is a clone of this amp. It's $111 and sounds identical and looks badass
Noob guitarist here, what do you do with such a pedal? Do you run your guitar > pedal > any amp? If yes that's damn impressive, especially for that price
@@jinxie1080 pretty much. I have a 2x12 combo amp that I run several pedals to the front, and some in the effect loop.
sweet riffs man
💪🤘
I have one the reverb only works with the foot switch plugged in
🤔 maybe I'l have to find a footswitch and check it out.
Awesome demo! What's that riff around 7:40? Sounds so familiar but I can't place it
I used to have a Peavey Supreme 160 head. That thing had the best metal sound. I sold it for $150 years ago and wish I kept it. Solids-state amps always sounded better and more precise than tube amps for metal, to me.
They are angry amps
I love me Supreme 160.
So your saying I should go buy the supreme 160 head at my local guitar store for 300 bucks lol
@@schecter7elite801 I don't know. For an amp that was pretty old it still sounded modern. It had a great clean channel, and everyone I played it to couldn't tell if it was solid state or tube. It could do it all.
@@guitarcleveland sounds like it could be worth it then lol
Love your mix dude 🤘
I have an Ibanez head laying around, it sounds in the same ballpark, I've had it for two decades and i still go back to it from time to time :) dirty cheap too if you came across one
I got this head in a slightly older version in 1990 for graduation. I had a 4x10 Marshall at first and then 2 4x12 Crate cabs later on. It was cool for the time. My band went to a guy's home studio to record a demo and he used the direct line out for most of it and it sounded Sooooo horrible. I enjoyed the head for the most part.
Oh cool, the one that had the controls on the top of the panel instead of the bottom? Yeah, if you just used the direct line with no sort of filtering or cab simulation, it would just be the preamp signal, and yeah I'd imagine it sounded like poo poo.
@@TaylorDanley , yep the top panel one. People always thought I was using a bass head. Lol. It sounded pretty good running a wet/dry setup. I never knew until I saw your video that all those bands used one. \m/
Love the Bloodborne shirt!
Holy shit! That intro was sick.🖤
Saw you backed off the gain on channel B after the demo & before testing both channels!
My only qualm with this amp;
the gain maxes out at 2 and sounds exactly the same set @ gain 10.
The SNK VHD Pre-amp pedal fixed this problem for me, and the gain/EQ knobs are more versatile when playing through a clean pedal/power amp. I prefer running it through a quilter toneblock to match the EQ level of my vh140c (& of course for the extra 60 watts ;^))
I suggest this for anyone looking to sound like Dying fetus, saving money on a hard to find amp, all while fitting it all in your backpack!
Been waiting for a proper demo vid of this absolute unit! Thanks :^)))
I want to say that sanguisuggabogs first record was recorded on two of these. He used it with two really tall and skinny tower cabs.
I know he had that setup and then added a GX130C to the mix. Sketchy guy though. He was gonna print up some hats with the “VH140C” logo from the amp and took pre orders without making them. Luckily I got my money back lol.
I still got my ampeg head and it makes my blown crate stack sound wonderful!
This was my main amp head for 24 years until just last year when I got sick of lugging around the 4x12 with it.
I've let at least 40 of my recording customers use it on theirs projects as well. Truly an iconic amp! 👍
Bought a 2x12 for $200 about a year ago, couldn’t be happier. Awesome chunky tone as well as screaming leads
About the "flat sounding" part, channel A really doesn't allow any dynamics due to its conception. usually, cascading gain sequences employ a "fairly" clean first stage to keep a good /ample signal wave. it makes everything more progressive and detailed. here, the sequence is more like a boosted distorted gain stage cascading into another distorted one. Not a bad design, just a choice. And should you check on the schematic, you'd see that the circuit architecture is similar (not identical, just similar) to a...big muff!..diodes in the feedback loop, yadi yada, just more boost in front and other details. so yeah, dynamics is pretty much squished! Also, the "ultra mid" is a 1khz centered/26dB notch filter with a range extending from 100hz to 10khz. that's more audio squish right here haha! Shea was right, pots taper change how the knobs behave. His' with log tapers are coherent with how our earing works so, he definitely made the right choice! Just one final thing: you almost commit some sacrilegious act @17:15 😂
Yeah, Shea was really helpful explaining everything (or trying... a lot of it goes over my head lol) and showing me the schematics.
Do you mean because the pedal almost fell? Yeah I'm sort of clumsy. Did you see me knock my coffee mug over with my headstock a while back? 🤣
@@TaylorDanley lucky he builds Danley-proof pedals right?! 😁
@@AIBCustomFx Dude, he knows at this point 🤣 Like "Um Shea.. this pedal doesn't work anymore, do you have another one... I may have dropped it" lol
If you’re looking for a great underrated amp to check out, look into the Randall RH200. 200 watt solid state amp. It sounds great and since it’s Randall, it excels at doing high gain on a solid state. I had one years ago but sold it to pay for a Line 6 Spider Valve (another underrated amp worth checking out!)
I had one. Ended up trading my Warhead 2x12 combo in for a RH200 halfstack because the warhead kept having issues.
I've just discovered you about 30min ago. I've subscribed to you. I'm also a HUGE Metal guy....
Metallica, Pantera, KoRn, Cannibal Corpse, W.A.S.P.
Metal, Thrash, Death Metal, Nu Metal.....and everything in-between
My favorite guitar to play (you'll notice if you watch my videos) is my 8 string Ibanez tuned down a full step E/A/D/G/C/F/A/D
Sounds so fucking sick! Been trying to find one of these forever in the UK. Just impossible though lol.
Me too, think I might just have to pay tons to ship one from the US.
Yeah, they are just super rare anymore. I know they are out there though. Second best option is to get one of the preamp pedals with a good SS power amp.
a wet/dry rig is basically an old bassist trick of running a clean signal path and dirty signal path at the same time so basically the head acts like a DI box
Just sold my Ampeg VH 140C head. They're very dry sounding amps that super tight and aggressive. But needs a boost to add in some warmth to the tone.
Great review thanks
Thanks for dropping in!
I had an Ampeg VL-1002 Lee Jackson model that absolutely crushed back in the day too. You should check that one out.
Still have my combo with matching 2x12 and recorded the Sarsen self titled album with it. The amp's distortion is as amazing as the hype but what I also love is if I want to run something like a helix into it in stereo, you can use the stereo power amp ins that bypasses the preamps and it works as a personal PA but for guitar because you get the celestions etc just make sure to turn down on the multi fx. Amazing as it is but super versatile. The reverb and chorus turned on together is fucking awesome. The repair on the tank would be worth it!
For awhile I was in a band where the other guitarist had one of these. No matter what we did he would disappear in the mix. My mesa mkiv was too loud on 3 and he could crank and not be heard. We spent a ton of time dialing it. Their solution (wasn't my band) was to have me use a metal zone so I disappeared in the mix too. Then I figured out how to dial the metal zone to be heard again and they pulled that old trick of disbanding the group then reforming without me so they didn't have to fire me.
Another staple amplifier in that era is the Peavey VTM 120. That thing is a gain monster and handles low end like no other. Check them out sometime if you haven't yet! They're roughly $600 used
Those crush! I think they are tube though?
yes they are tubed ,,i have one great amp
@@totalbullion5882
This is one of my main amps, I’ve played it for countless shows, recordings and practices. I love it, but the recent resurgence and price spike on reverb and FB marketplace is part of the overhype brought along by newer weaker death metal bands copying entombed and incantation. It’s a fantastic amp for extreme metal with the right cab. I have a beautiful Diezel cab with V30s that makes any tube amp sound amazing, but the VH140 sounds like dogshit through it. When I use this head, I run it through the matching Ampeg 4x12 with some kind of Celestion GH speakers (i forget exactly what kind but everyone hates them) and it sounds massive. Great for fetus/suffocation/internal bleeding tones but also great for scooped mid ignorance. Will forever love this amp. Good video, I just think you might’ve ran it through the wrong cab and dialed it weird.
Celestion GM 12-70 ?
@@wakjob961 think so. haven’t cracked the cab in a while. they don’t sound great with other amps but considering the VH140 is voiced for those speakers it sounds best with those
@@wakjob961 The initial combo came with Celestion G12-85's, they later swapped to ampeg brand that were made by Eminence.
awesome riffs!
Thanks! 💪